James c



(No Model.)

Patented Aug, 30, 1892.

T... m S0 H S m N JJ b S aouauouooo e 0 Soc 09 INVENTOI? ATTORNEYS WITNESSES. V

c m M w m w M m m m n n m m m UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. HAYS, OF RITSK, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF O NE-HALF TO JOHN J.

MURRAY, OF SAME PLACE.

MESSENGERS PlCKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,867, dated August 30, 1892.

Application filed March 30, 1852.

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, JAMES C. HAYS, of Rusk, in the county of Cherokee and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Messengers Picket, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention is an improvement in means of protection for express-men or express-messengers on railway-trains from successful attack by robbers. In other words, it is an improved form of bullet-proof cage or miniature fort in which the express-man or messenger may look himself in case of danger and from which he may watch and fire upon his assailants with almost perfect safety.

The construction embodying my invention, which, for convenience, 1 term a messengers picket, is as hereinafter described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the picket, showing it attached to the tender of a 1000- motive, the tender being broken away to show the means of attachment. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the picket on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan of the picket, and Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the door-fastening.

The picket 10 is preferably of rectangular shape, although it may be of any approved shape, and it is practically a large box havin g a suitable cover 11, and the picket is made, preferably, of sheet-steel or of some material which is bullet-proof. It is mounted on rollers 12, so that it may be easily moved about and is supported on the top of the tender 13. In one side of the picket is an outwardlyswinging door 14, to which is pivoted a bar 15 near its free edge and on the inside, this bar being adapted to swing upward in two keepers 16 and 17,which are secured, respectively, to the door and to the adjacent side of the picket, and the bar may be held in this position, as shown in Fig. 2, by a pin 18, which projects through the keeper and is attached thereto by a chain 19 to prevent it from getting lost.

In the sides of the picket are port-holes 20,

Serial No. 427,101. (Nomodeh) one of these being produced in the door 14, and the port-holes are large enough for the messenger inside the picket to easily see through and also to afford convenient means for firing through with a rifle or pistol. The port-holes 20 may be closed by shutters 21, which are pivoted to the inner side of the picket adjacent to the port-holes, and each shutter has it upper end elongated, as shown at 21, and this end is adapted to engage pins 23 and 24., arranged in its path, so that the shutter may be held to shut the porthole or may be held at one side of the same.

Within the picket and near the bottomis a seat 25, consisting simply of a plank, and this is supported upon cleats 26, which are secured to the sides of the picket.

At the bottom of the picket are strong crossbars 27,extending from corner to corner, and these are made of steel or other heavy and strong material, and at the intersection of the cross-bars they are perforated and'provided on the under side with a bearing-washer 28. A bolt 29 extends downward through the cross-bars and the washer 28, as shown in Fig.

2, and this bolt is adapted to screw into a threaded socket 30, which is secured in the top of the tender 13, the socket having a top flange 31, which supports the bearing-washer 28, and this construction makes a small bearing-surface, so that the picket may be easily revolved when necessary. The cross-bars 27 are perforated vertically near their outer ends at 32, so that the fastening-chains 33 may extend through them. These chains are fixed to eyebolts 34 or their equivalents, which are firmly attached to the inside of the picket near the top and near the corners, and the chains extend downward beneath the picket, where they terminate in snap-hooks 85, which are adapted to engage rings 36 on the top of the tender 13. It will thus be seen that the picket may be firmly fastened by the chains, and as these extend to a point near the top of the picket the latter cannot be easily displaced.

When the picket is to be removed, it may be easily done by unfastening the hooks 2-35 and removing the bolt 29, and if it is desired to revolve the picket for any reason so as to bring the door into any particular position the hooks 35 maybe detached from the rings and the picket easily turned around.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that afully-armed messenger may fasten himself within the-picket and that he ma easily look out so as to observe all that is going on, and that he ma 7 bring his guns to bear on all sides of the picket, so as to shoot any train-robbers or other intruders.

The picket may be provided with any alarm mechanism, if necessary, such as a bell, which may connect with the engine-cab and the train, or if .no mechanism of this kind is employed the train-hands, the engineer, "or the fireman may attract the attention of the messenger when any danger is approaching and warn him,so that he may protect the enupon any approaching In carrying out this invention it is expected that a messenger will er, of the messengers picket consisting of a box-like structure mounted on wheels and having a side door and port-holes with closing shutters, and means for attaching it to the flat top portion of the tender, as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the locomotivetender having a threaded socket therein, of the revoluble picket havinga depending bolt to enter the socket, the picket having also a door in one side with a fastening device therefor andport-holes in its sides, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the tender having rings therein, ot the movable picket havinga door in one side, port-holes in its sides, and

mcssengers picket comprising a boxlike portable structure having a door in one side with afastening device therefor, shutterprotected port-holesin its sides, cross-bars eX- tending across the bottom, and a fasteningbolt extending downward through the crossbars and adapted to secure the picket to a support, substantially as shown and described.

A messengers picket comprising a boxlike structure having a doorin one side, portholes in its sides, swinging shutters for the port-holes, a seat arranged within it, and fastening-chains secured within it near the top and extending downward through the bottom, the chains being adapted to be secured to a support, substantially as described.

JAMES C. HAYS.

\Vitnesses:

O. P. BOYNTON, D. E. RUCKER. 

